Decorative foliage bamboos

Hibanobambusa tranquillans 'Shiroshima': a small variegated bamboo that shines all year round

Hibanobambusa tranquillans ‘Shiroshima’ is one of the most beautiful small bamboos with variegated foliage. It produces long, slender leaves that are light green and striated with cream white, particularly bright in winter, and adorned with a pink edge in spring.

Upright, bushy, and very dense, Hibanobambusa tranquillans ‘Shiroshima’ offers modest growth, reaching heights of 2 to 3 m at ripeness. Its light green culms, strong and straight, are also sometimes striated with cream white.

Cold-resistant down to -20°C, this easy-to-grow small bamboo is also drought-tolerant. It establishes itself in all exposures and in all types of soil, making it suitable for creating a privacy or windbreak hedge. As a running bamboo, the installation of a rhizome barrier is necessary in open ground. It is also possible to grow it in a container.

Sasaella masamuneana 'Albostriata': a low-maintenance dwarf bamboo with decorative foliage

Although small in size, Sasaella masamuneana ‘Albostriata’ is a bamboo that does not go unnoticed, thanks to its long variegated leaves, striped with cream white or pale yellow along their entire length.

This dwarf bamboo is vigorous and offers a rounded, bushy habit, growing to a height of between 1.75 and 2.50 m. Its growth can be limited to around 70 cm in height if pruned each spring. Its fine culms (2 to 5 mm in diameter) are brown or very dark green, sometimes with a reddish tint. The evergreen sheaths are light beige.

Vigorous and hardy down to -15°C, Sasaella masamuneana ‘Albostriata’ enjoys semi-shaded conditions and adapts well to most cool soils, even calcareous or stony ones. It establishes itself slowly at first, before experiencing a more rapid growth. It is appreciated for creating small hedges, but also in borders or as a solitary clump, or even in pots. Its running rootstock can be easily controlled with a rhizome barrier.

Pleioblastus chino 'Elegantissimus': a charming little variegated bamboo that is graceful and airy.

Pleioblastus chino ‘Elegantissimus’ is a small variegated bamboo that forms a clump of fine, airy leaves, almost silver as they are striate with cream white. Evergreen, this foliage brings true elegance to this small bamboo, which remains splendid all year round.

Very bushy and with a graceful habit, this dwarf bamboo reaches between 1.75 and 2.50 m in height. Its elegant rounded silhouette is also trailing. It produces ramified and fine culms (2 to 5 mm in diameter) of a green colour tinged with purple.

Well adapted to harsh winters as it is hardy below -15°C, Pleioblastus chino ‘Elegantissimus’ can be grown in the ground (as a mass, isolated clump, or small hedge) but also in pots. It enjoys well-sunny exposures and deep soils that are constantly moist, preferably non-calcareous. Its rootstocks are not very running, but a rhizome barrier is still necessary.

Pleioblastus fortunei 'Variegatus': a tiny, easy-care bamboo with decorative foliage.

Pleioblastus fortunei ‘Variegatus’ is one of the easiest variegated bamboos to grow. It features a wonderful pubescent foliage (hairy) on both sides, well provided and striated with cream white, especially when exposed to sunlight.

Reaching heights of 1 m, or up to 1.5 m at most, this dwarf bamboo has an upright and densely bushy habit. These hollow culms are very thin (1 to 2 mm in diameter) and have a pale green colour. They branch out into long, slender, upright branches covered with evergreen leaves.

Vigorous and well resistant to cold down to -22°C, Pleioblastus fortunei ‘Variegatus’ thrives in sunlight and in all good garden soils, preferably deep, cool, and non-calcareous. This variety is particularly well suited for pruning and can be grown in both the ground and pots. It is used to create splendid groundcovers or low borders. Its running rhizomes, however, require the installation of anti-rhizome barriers.

Pleioblastus viridistriatus 'Vagans': a variegated dwarf bamboo that is very evergreen

Pleioblastus viridistriatus ‘Vagans‘ is a very graceful dwarf bamboo with very evergreen foliage, soft and bright green, featuring light edges in winter, giving it a highly decorative variegated appearance. It has lighter and more flexible foliage than other bamboo varieties.

Well-branched, compact, and densely ramified, this dwarf bamboo grows rapidly and reaches a height of less than 1 m at maturity. It has an upright habit and a regular silhouette, with very fine culms (1 to 2 mm in diameter), offering a pale green-brown colour.

Robust and hardy down to -24°C, it is also very low-maintenance. Pleioblastus viridistriatus ‘Vagans’ establishes itself practically anywhere and requires very little care. It tolerates both full sun and shade equally well. Therefore, it is used interchangeably in light undergrowth, on slopes, and as groundcover under trees. It is also ideal for forming a large border along a path. However, it is too exuberant to be grown in pots. Very running, its growth must be contained by a rhizome barrier.

For further reading

• Learn how to choose your bamboos wisely.
• Also discover our selection of bamboos with coloured culms.
• A range of bamboo varieties all available in the Promesse de Fleurs online shop.